7 % ABV. Dogfish Head Brewing, Milton, DE.
Friends of the Nib, may I present to you the first entry of a pumpkin beer in nearly four years. It's true, I just don't care about them. I don't mind them, but I never go out of my way for one. And today, I revisit a beer I first had in 2003, and probably haven't had since. I'm just going to go ahead and share those old notes and see how they compare with drinking it today...
(Keep in mind that in 2003 the style had not yet lost it's luster for me. )
Appearance: solid, opaque rustic brown color, good and chunky 1/2" creamy head.
Aroma: divine! That's my immediate thought, for after just sampling other pumpkin-themed beers, this seems to be the one that's getting it right. The spices that are overflowing and dominant in others are clearly more interested in sharing the spotlight here, it's richer, fuller, creamy, complex.
Taste: again, just right. They hit the nail on the head here, choosing a full-bodied brown ale as the base, so you get the cinnamon and allspice, the pumpkin, and in this case, the brown sugar, but there's still a significant beer underneath, and in this case, a much sturdier, tastier, creamier brown ale than most. A most welcome flood of flavors, smooth, but substantial, thoroughly filling the mouth and washing it with warm, sweet, pumpkinny goodness. Soft, tasty finish. I enjoyed every last drop. Leave it to DfH to craft the best pumpkin ale I've yet to taste!
I got this in a trade, way back, eighteen years ago. I edited out some of the exclamation points. It's spicy, warm, and perfect for the season. So, I stick with my gushing review of long ago, and urge one and all to include this one in your pumpkinny celebrations.
I gave this a 4.32 on BeerAdvocate, a full 9.4 % above the average. Well, I liked it, what can I say?
A full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of pumpkin and brown sugar. We brew our Punkin Ale with pumpkin meat, brown sugar and spices. As the season cools, this is the perfect beer to warm up with.
No comments:
Post a Comment